Midsummer

Rating:
Summary: Reads Like a Rough-Draft of 'Wurm'
Review: Another reviewer has summarized the plot nicely, so I won't delve into that too much. My gripe with this novel is twofold:

1) As another person mentioned, the cover art is truly misrepresentational - the art director that OK'd it was fired, I hope.

2) This book reads like a rough-draft for Costello's later (and in my opinion, far superior) novel 'Wurm'. Now there's nothing wrong, I guess, with writing two variations on the same idea, but having read Wurm first and then Midsummer, I was disappointed by the latter.

I will say that the late explanation of the 'infection' was handled in a truly unique, offbeat, and creepy manner, saving this book from a two-star rating. Give 'Wurm' a read if you want a much better version.

Rating:
Summary: Reads Like a Rough-Draft of 'Wurm'
Review: Another reviewer has summarized the plot nicely, so I won't delve into that too much. My gripe with this novel is twofold:

1) As another person mentioned, the cover art is truly misrepresentational - the art director that OK'd it was fired, I hope.

2) This book reads like a rough-draft for Costello's later (and in my opinion, far superior) novel 'Wurm'. Now there's nothing wrong, I guess, with writing two variations on the same idea, but having read Wurm first and then Midsummer, I was disappointed by the latter.

I will say that the late explanation of the 'infection' was handled in a truly unique, offbeat, and creepy manner, saving this book from a two-star rating. Give 'Wurm' a read if you want a much better version.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional read!
Review: I think this was my first Costello book and after I read it I started keeping my eye on the C's at my local bookstore, doing a hard target search for more of his work. I've now read all of his horror novels and he's become a favorite author of mine. MIDSUMMER is a great introduction to his work and a great, creepy read...A young boy arrives at his grandmother's farm for a summer of fun and sun. Unfortunately for him and the nearby town, something else has come to visit. Something that escaped from a remote research post in the Antarctics and is spreading a kind of parasitic organism that takes human hosts and is driven to spread it's evil mutation. The climax comes during the town's summer carnival where all hell breaks loose... An exceptional read for horror fans and an author to seek out. Costello delivers in a fast paced, crisp manner and has a real talent for building nail-biting suspense. Great stuff for horror fans.

Rating:
Summary: Great H.P. Lovecraft-style horror novel
Review: If you love great horror, H.P. Lovecraft-style, this book is a must-read. Ancient horror found in the depths of Antarctica, waiting to be allowed freedom, sets out to take over humanity. Awesome action, great characters, you can read it in one day. Costello is a master at this and Midsummer shows it.

Rating:
Summary: Bad cover, Great story
Review: What have you heard a million times and cringed when you read it, "Do not judge a book by it's cover." Well, that is what I almost did when looking at Midsummer. I am not much for zombie books, and that is what the cover has on it, a decaying zombie in a funhouse cart. Also the quote on the front, "Step right up folks! Win a prize-and lose your soul.." does not have much to do with the story in my opinion.

The story is fun, it is science fiction/horror. The main character is a young boy just noticing girls. A vacation in a small town, a carnival, and unknown organisms make this book exciting and suspenseful.

Rating:
Summary: Bad cover, Great story
Review: What have you heard a million times and cringed when you read it, "Do not judge a book by it's cover." Well, that is what I almost did when looking at Midsummer. I am not much for zombie books, and that is what the cover has on it, a decaying zombie in a funhouse cart. Also the quote on the front, "Step right up folks! Win a prize-and lose your soul.." does not have much to do with the story in my opinion.

The story is fun, it is science fiction/horror. The main character is a young boy just noticing girls. A vacation in a small town, a carnival, and unknown organisms make this book exciting and suspenseful.